Thinking of adding a Hit Location roll.
OK, so I recognize that this is not Fast, but it's something my group likes and we miss from DL Classic rules. We also have these neat d12's that have a stick figure man with hit locations:

two for each arm
two for each leg
three for torso
one for head

I'm thinking of using it in my next game with the following rules (replacing the standard -1 to rolls and pace per wound):
- Four wounds total still results in Incapacitation, doesn't matter how those wounds are spread out.
- Penalties:

Arm: -1 to all rolls, -2 to any rolls involving the wounded arm (per wound)
Leg: -2 pace (per wound) [If someone's pace is reduced to 0 then they can only move by spending an action to run d6", or be carried]
Torso: Standard -1 to all rolls and pace (per wound)
Head: -2 to all rolls (per wound)

I'm planning to make up little cards to give people as reminders ("Congratulations! You just received a HEAD wound, here's what you get...")
So here are the questions:

1. Do the penalties seem fairly balanced, given the locations hit?
2. What about cover? I was thinking of two options:

A. If an attack hits (after penalties) and would hit a location blocked by cover, then the hit defaults to the torso.
B. Remove the penalties for firing at someone in cover, but if the location rolled is behind cover, then the target gets armor as per the Obstacles rule

I'm leaning toward B because it seems more realistic and may encourage people to think about called shots, etc. a little more (my group rarely tries called shots, considering the risk not worth the reward).

I think your system is doable, but it'll definitely cut down on some of the FFF of gameplay. From your comments you're aware of that though, so no problem if you're willing to make that sacrifice.

chillburn wrote:

Leg: -2 pace (per wound) [If someone's pace is reduced to 0 then they can only move by spending an action to run d6", or be carried

Is your intent here to use the run play mechanic for another purpose, like a staggering walk? If not, I have a problem visualizing how someone with wounds to their legs could run.

Quote:

2. What about cover? I was thinking of two options:

A. If an attack hits (after penalties) and would hit a location blocked by cover, then the hit defaults to the torso.
B. Remove the penalties for firing at someone in cover, but if the location rolled is behind cover, then the target gets armor as per the Obstacles rule

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I'm leaning toward B because it seems more realistic and may encourage people to think about called shots, etc. a little more (my group rarely tries called shots, considering the risk not worth the reward).

I think option B is really your only choice if you want to maintain some form of cover in gameplay, but I think its less than ideal. The -1 to -4 penalty is much more of a factor on a To-hit roll than an obstacle bonus is to toughness. That will depend a lot though on what they're taking cover behind and what damage their foe can deal.

Like most of us, I want my SW games to be "Fast", "Furious", and "Fun", so if it ever comes down to needing hit locations in my games, I use this "complicated" system available from Chessex :

Cool! I'll have to see if I can find it locally ... because living in Canada if I were to order that and have it shipped over the border I just bought the Brooklyn Bridge. _________________Dean: "Ya' know she could be faking."
Sam: "Yeah, what do you wanna do, poke her with a stick?"
[Dean nods]
Sam: "Dude, you're not gonna poke her with a stick?"
Supernatural Quotes

I totally forgot about that. Maybe the penalty for a head shot shouldn't be any worse than torso? Basically the fact that it automatically does +1 wound level is enough. So:

Arm: -1 to all rolls, -2 to any rolls involving the wounded arm (per wound)
Leg: -2 pace (per wound) [If someone's pace is reduced to 0 then they can only move by spending an action to run d6", or be carried]
Torso: Standard -1 to all rolls and pace (per wound)
Head: +4 to damage roll, penalties as Torso

I like it, it seems fairly elegant and simple to use. I think that the tension of the hit-location roll and the little extra paperwork (damage to different locations) boost the Fun enough to counterbalance the slight loss of Fast.

That hit location D12 is $7.00 and 28mm tall by the way. I couldn't find it listed on their catalogue so I emailed and that's what I was told.

Cool thing is it's big enough everyone around the table would be able to read it. _________________Dean: "Ya' know she could be faking."
Sam: "Yeah, what do you wanna do, poke her with a stick?"
[Dean nods]
Sam: "Dude, you're not gonna poke her with a stick?"
Supernatural Quotes

I always saw the Gritty damage rules from SWD as the official hit location rule. Any reason to use that or it might be to harsh with penalties?

For combat I'm not going to change anything but for truly random hit location like falling rocks or stray bullets/arrows, etc. the random generation makes sense._________________Dean: "Ya' know she could be faking."
Sam: "Yeah, what do you wanna do, poke her with a stick?"
[Dean nods]
Sam: "Dude, you're not gonna poke her with a stick?"
Supernatural Quotes

Just landed a 26 damage hit? That was actually a headshot and it hit so hard because it bypassed armor and got +4.

Me too. It seems like every time I've tried using hit locations, I end up doing massive damage to the left foot, or something that just doesn't make sense. It just seems to me to be easier to determind damage normally, and any side-effects from it, and explain how it got that way.

Isn't this already covered by one of the damage variants in Deluxe, which suggests to roll on the Incapacitation chart whenever a Wound is sustained?

Outside of AoE effects (which are pretty indiscriminate, and unlikely that only a single body party is going to be affected), this matters most for aimed attacks.

If you are taking a shot at something, you are aiming at something on that target - either a called shot (and we have our location then) or center of mass (torso). The likelihood of hitting limbs is still present, but the chance of hitting hands/feet is much, much smaller unless they are intervening. The position of the target matters.

Finally, remember that most of the Injuries can be some heft penalties on top of the Wounds...